## Charting a New Course for Qatar’s Economic Diversification After the World Cup

_IMF News, July 22, 2024_

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## Bibliographic details
- Authors: Ran Bi, Ken Miyajima July
- Published: July 22, 2024

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### Post‑World Cup economic gains and tourism
- Visitor arrivals in 2023 were nearly twice pre-pandemic levels.
- Tourism this year reached new heights.
- Hosting the World Cup boosted Qatar’s global profile and accelerated economic diversification into non-hydrocarbon sectors.

### Role of public infrastructure investment in diversification
- Massive public infrastructure investment program since 2011 built ports, roads, metro, and airports.
- The cost of stadiums represented only about 5 percent of the total infrastructure investment, by some estimates.
- IMF analysis: the public investment program helped drive most of Qatar’s economic diversification over the past decade, contributing on average 5–6 percentage points annually to non-hydrocarbon real GDP growth.
- The newly created infrastructure can be leveraged to generate new jobs, businesses, and opportunities in sectors beyond oil and gas.

### Structural and institutional reforms implemented
- Enhanced labor protection for foreign workers, who account for about 95 percent of the labor force.
- First Gulf Cooperation Council country to abolish Kafala, a sponsorship system for foreign workers that limits their mobility.
- Initiatives to improve business efficiency and attract foreign direct investment.
- Advanced digitalization efforts: ranked 16th among 198 countries in the World Bank’s GovTech Maturity Index.

### Remaining challenge: transition to private sector‑driven growth
- Key challenge: transitioning from public sector‑led growth to a more diversified, private sector‑driven model, as envisioned by Qatar’s National Vision 2030.
- Qatar’s Third National Development Strategy (2024-30), launched in January 2024, sets strategic priorities aligned with IMF advice.

### IMF analysis, simulations, and projected gains from reforms
- Reforms identified as likely to generate significant growth gains:
  - Attract more skilled foreign workers.
  - Ease access to financing for small and medium enterprises.
  - Encourage competition and trade.
- Simulations suggest that a comprehensive package of labor market and business environment reforms could boost annual non-hydrocarbon growth by close to 3 percentage points over the medium term.
- To maximize gains, complementary reforms should be properly sequenced and consistent with the country’s capacity for implementation.
- Continuing progress with digitalization and climate actions can generate new sources of growth and enhance sustainability.

*By Ran Bi and Ken Miyajima; July 22, 2024 — IMF News*

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## References

- [STAFF REPORT](https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/CR/Issues/2024/02/06/Qatar-2023-Article-IV-Consultation-Press-Release-and-Staff-Report-544471)
- [QATAR AND THE IMF](https://www.imf.org/en/Countries/QAT)
- [QATAR'S TRANSFORMATION: FROM HYDROCARBON TO HIGHTECH](https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/selected-issues-papers/Issues/2024/02/21/From-HydroCarbon-to-Hightech-Mapping-the-Economic-Transformation-of-Qatar-545095)
- [https://www.imf.org/en/News/country-focus](https://www.imf.org/en/News/country-focus)
- [PRESS CENTER](http://presscenter.imf.org/)
- [IMF analysis](https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/CR/Issues/2024/02/06/Qatar-Selected-Issues-544476)
- [https://www.imf.org/en/home](https://www.imf.org/en/home)

_Source: https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2024/07/22/cf-charting-a-new-course-for-qatars-economic-diversification-after-the-world-cup_